Hisar (Haryana): Two incidents of girls being stabbed to death by two different youths in less than four months have sent shock waves among students and faculty of the Guru Jhambeshwar University of Science and Technology in this Haryana town.

In both incidents, the youth had been spurned in love by the victims. In both cases, the assailants and the victims were engineering students. In the latest incident, police have arrested Pradeep Nain, 21, a final-year student of B. Tech (mechanical) course after he allegedly attacked Geetika, 20, a final-year student of B. Tech (computer science), with an axe on Monday evening near the shopping centre of the university campus.

The victim, a hostel inmate, was sitting near the shopping centre when Pradeep came and got into an argument with her, police officials said. Later he attacked her with the axe."The girl and boy had some relationship but she had later distanced herself from him. After the argument, he attacked her with an axe. She died on the way to hospital," a police official said here.

The assailant was nabbed by other students present at the spot and handed over to police. On August 10 this year, another engineering student of the university, Varsha Yadav, 19, was stabbed to death by another engineering student from a college in Pune, Chetan Sheoran. He was arrested by police. The victim and Chetan had met in Kota last year while preparing for engineering entrance tests. After they joined institutions in different places, Varsha withdrew from him.

Police officials said that Chetan was frustrated at being spurned by Varsha and stabbed her as she came out of her hostel to go home for holidays."Both incidents have left the students, particularly girls, shocked. The university needs to beef up security to ensure that people don't carry weapons on the campus," said final year engineering student, Sangeeta Sharma (name changed).

University officials said that they were seeking the help of police to beef up security on the campus.